12. Sawtooth Waves

The first common waveform considered by the Electronic Music Interactive is the sawtooth wave. The sawtooth wave has the following characteristics:

The ratio 1/harmonic number means that the fundamental, or first harmonic, has an amplitude of 1/1, or 1; the second harmonic, therefore, will have an amplitude of 1/2 (half the strength of the fundamental); the third harmonic will have an amplitude of 1/3 (a third of the strength of the fundamental); and so on.

Harmonic Spectrum of a Sawtooth Wave

Resulting Waveform

Example 12-1: The building of a sawtooth wave, a common waveform.